The present invention relates to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to the mechanical and electrical connection between a current carrying wire and a pin type electrical connector of the banana-type.
Many types of electrical equipment including audio entertainment systems employ pin-type electrical connectors to facilitate inter-equipment connections. For example, in audio entertainment systems, including systems for use in the home and in commercial environments, the amplifiers and the loudspeakers are interconnected by a loudspeaker wire with the actual interconnection between the wires and the respective loudspeaker or amplifier effected through banana-type pin-and-socket connectors. These connectors typically include a male pin having one or more radially resilient conductor portions and a complementary post-type socket that has a smooth pin-receiving internal bore. The connection between the wire and the male pin has usually been effected through the use of a set screw, a threaded ferrule, or a directly soldered connection. In the set screw configuration, the bare wire core, either a solid or stranded core, is located in a wire-core receiving hole and then clamped in place wth an adjustable set screw which, often times, also holds an insulating ferrule in place on the pin. In the threaded ferrule configuration, the pin is provided with a wire receiving hole that extends through the body of the pin with an adjustable threaded ferrule or sleeve mounted on the pin and adjustable to place the exposed end of the wire core under shear to thereby clamp the wire to the pin. In the soldered connection configuration, the bare end of the wire is received within a wire receiving cup or bore formed in the pin and directly soldered in place. Each of these pin-to-wire connecting configurations is satisfactory although considerable time and labor can be involved in making the desired connection since these configurations are not particularly suited to automatic manufacturing techniques.
In recent years, there has been a trend in audio entertainment systems to vastly increase the power delivered to the loudspeakers. As part of this trend, it has been recognized that losses can be introduced into the system because of the traditionally used loudspeaker wire and banana-type connectors. In response to this recognition, larger diameter loudspeaker wires have been introduced and more power efficient banana-type plug configurations developed, for example, as disclosed in the above cross-referenced patent applications. The standard wire-to-pin configurations discussed above have not generally been considered satisfactory since standarized banana-type pins cannot readily accept larger diameter loudspeaker wires.